


Drama Students Do It On Stage

by twistedprincess



Category: Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Panic! at the Disco, Paramore
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drama Students, Hate to Love, Jealousy, M/M, Musicals, Teenage Drama, Totally Made Up Musical That I Came Up With
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-15
Updated: 2015-02-02
Packaged: 2018-03-07 15:40:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3176919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twistedprincess/pseuds/twistedprincess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for Prompt #54 from frerardhub on tumblr.</p><p>"High School AU - Frank is gunning for the lead in this spring’s musical production, and he seems to have it locked in… That is, until a light-eyed boy he’s never seen before shows up at auditions and wows the director with his incredible range. Frank must admit, the boy’s range is pretty amazing, but what’s NOT amazing is when the boy lands the principle role - and Frank is cast as a chorus member. WHAT?! Frank is determined to find out who this boy is, and when he does, he’s gonna teach him a lesson."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intro To Drama

**Author's Note:**

> I made Delchiaro up, so technically that shit is mine, thank you, and if it ever becomes a musical and you hear that it’ll be on Broadway, you know where it came from, bitches. Sorry about the Italian in this, I couldn’t NOT put it in there because yeah, but like it’s from Google Translate, if any of you native or non-native Italian speakers out there wanna help with that, it’d be a blessing. Although I did a lot of research before I chose Delchiaro’s name so yeah. But I sincerely apologize for my lack of actual Italian language knowledge besides a few words. This is also just me venting my anger on how I didn’t get the lead in my schools musical so- be prepared because I deserved that lead more than the girl who got it. And I may or may have not based Miss Wendy off of my drama teacher. Pfft. This is basically what I want to happen right now in my life because the guy I like has a lead in the musical. Wow. Go me. Let’s do this.

Here’s the thing. Frank had this audition in the fucking bag. As the VP of the Haven High Drama Department, he was already on the cast list obviously. And being that he held the lead role for 3 play productions, 4 drama class productions and 2 musicals, he was already a shoe in for the lead. Not to mention he was fucking _perfect_ for the lead role anyway.

The musical- which was bound to be the biggest production that Haven had put on in 6 years- was called _Delchiaro_.

 _Delchiaro_ was a musical about a middle class Italian boy who wants to pursue his dream of music, while his father reprimands him to stay with him and practice his blacksmith skills to take on the family business. Delchiaro though sneaks away to a farther part of town where he shares his music with the common people, there he meets a girl, Abri, who wants to travel to London to study with her Uncle and pursue her opera career, but her family is far too poor to survive without her working alongside them. From there he struggles to tell his father of his plans to move with Abri to London when they both turn 18. He works as his father’s apprentice and on his birthday receives a generous present from someone who had been watching him perform in town and him and Abri move to London after Abri’s 18 th birthday with enough money to keep Abri’s family going till him and Abri can send them money.

Obviously Frank was perfect for the part, seeing as he was half Italian and he had the crazy Italian mother at his house to prove it. Plus Delchiaro was a musician and everyone in school knew Frank was the guy to go to for music (and drama department) info. Frank also had the voice and skills to be Delchiaro, and everyone in the drama department was totally sure that Miss Wendy- the newest Drama teacher who was directing this as her first play at Haven High- would totally love him since he was her favorite in her class.

The old drama teacher they had hadn't really been too keen on actually doing well... drama. Then the school hired Miss Wendy who was taking over the entire Drama department, which meant she was teaching 6 Drama classes and hosting Drama Club, and directing the Musical. Everyone thought that Wendy was totally awesome. She was fresh out of college and was super cool with all of the new Drama pieces and encouraged the kids to actually want to act. All of the serious drama kids were on her favorites list, and got pulled out of class to just hang out in the drama room. 

Frank was Miss Wendy's favorite student.

Frank had been practicing scales since summer. Over the summer him and his best friend Olivia (who was a total shoe in for Abri, so when Frank and her had the main love interest scene where Abri and Delchiaro kiss it would be way less awkward for Frank- because hello, Frank’s in _theater_ of course he’s hella gay) had found out that a new teacher- Miss Wendy- was taking over and they we’re going to start with the Broadway production of _Delchiaro_ , they had practically screeched. They did screech, a few times actually. So Olivia and Frank had practiced since the end of summer for what they knew would be their upcoming starring roles. Frank practically had all of the lines of the script memorized, not to mention every single musical number.

The whole drama department practically had the cast list planned out already and they just needed Miss Wendy to confirm it. As soon as school started Frank had to try to get into the mindset to be Delchiaro, especially when around Miss Wendy. Frank would often bring his guitar to school and play for everyone in Drama Club afterschool when Miss Wendy could see, and would carry around the guitar to his classes. Then he would often try to sneak in a few Italian phrases and words every so often just so Miss Wendy would catch it and realize he was perfect to be Delchiaro.

Everything about Frank’s junior year at Haven High was going to be perfect. He was going to be the lead in one of his favorite musicals and the President of the Drama Department was a senior meaning next year he would be President of the Haven High Drama Department, what could be better? He was living his dream, not to mention next summer he would be taking directing classes with a Broadway director, along with a selected few.

Needless to say, the only way from here was up.

-

In Drama 3 that day Miss Wendy was excited as ever. “Okay- Okay, class. So the signup sheet for Delchiaro is going up today after school!” Miss Wendy screeched excitedly as she practically ran around the classroom. She was just out of college and was probably the coolest teacher at Haven besides Mr. Ramone. Frank squirmed in his seat as Olivia looked over at him with an excited smile. Miss Wendy waved her hands around and sucked in a deep breath. “Okay so tech signup sheets will be next to actor sign ups so, make sure that you pick those up. Take home the paperwork and sheet music, and practice it a little, but don’t worry, we’ll practice at auditions. Have your paperwork with you when you show up in two weeks’ time. Tell all of your friends to sign up! And remember tech crew is just as important as our stars.” She said and smiled really wide at the class, holding up the signup sheets. “They will be put up outside the auditorium at the drama hallway, right after school. Be there!” She says just as the bell rings for the next class.

Frank and Olivia immediately find each other outside the classroom. “So I’ll meet you at the auditorium doors as soon as schools out right?” Olivia says; her eyes wide as she speaks with enthusiasm.

“You know it.” Frank says as soon as Olivia's sentence ends.

Olivia sighs happily and clears her throat before speaking, “ _Oh my Delchiaro, our dreams await us elsewhere_.” Olivia quotes the musical as she backs away, dramatically, towards her class.

“ _Darling Abri, we shall achieve the dreams we want as long as we are together_.” Frank quotes back with a cheesy grin before pushing his messenger bag further on his shoulder and turning to walk to his next class.

-

“Are you ready for the moment that could change our lives, Frankie?” Olivia says dramatically, as they stand in front of the signup sheet for the actors. Watching people sign up, a small crowd of people around the Drama Bulletin Board, talking, mostly about who would be Delchiaro. He could hear Brendon Urie complaining about how his talents were being wasted by being a chorus boy, and Frank sighed, some people just didn't understand the importance.

Frank nods before he holds out his hand in a regal way and Olivia takes it as they walk up to the sheet. Frank drops Olivia’s hand before he reaches into his bag to take out his lucky dark blue sharpie pen and signing his name in his artistic print on the signup sheet. He caps the pen, dropping it back into his messenger bag and taking a step back as Olivia steps up with her silver sharpie and signs her name right under his, in her girly cursive font.

“This is it,” Frank says in an awed voice, “This is the beginning of Delchiaro.”

“Aren’t you excited?” Olivia grins and grabs at Frank’s arm. “Check over the list, see who has signed up already.” She steps forward with Frank as they skim over the names, making small comments like:

_“Jessie will end up doing spotlights again, instead of auditioning.”_

_“Leslie and Josh are trying for leads but they’ll end up being Theo and Fae.”_

They look through the already full first page of wannabe’s and regular drama sign ups and people who are totally made for leads but won’t get one until next year. And then something strikes both Frank and Olivia’s eyes and they notice a name they have never seen anywhere near the drama department list, or in fact, the whole entire school.

Frank and Olivia knew a lot of people, they weren’t popular really, and they just sort of knew who people were from gossip, even if the people really didn’t know them. And of course Frank knew the entire drama department and even the people who weren’t technically in drama class or club and still signed up. But neither of them had ever seen this name in the entirety of Haven High School.

And right there in messy print writing.

_Gerard Way._

Frank was puzzled, but he figured that he could figure out who this Gerard person was by just asking around, and if he couldn’t conjure up something he would always see him at auditions.

Another drama student to invite into the wonderful Haven High Drama Department, Frank figured and he grinned at the thought.

This year would be perfect.

And soon Frank would be Delchiaro.


	2. Delchiaro Alessi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank wants to know who this Gerard guy thinks he is, and why the hell he's trying to steal Frank's spotlight.

The thing was- the thing _is_ \- that Frank knew a lot of people. He wasn’t really _friend’s_ with a lot of people but – _but_ – he knew who a lot of people were. And sure he didn’t know _everyone_ but he knew people that _did_. Frank definitely knew everyone in drama; he _had_ to know everyone in drama. He knew _everyone_ in drama classes, everyone in drama club, and everyone that even thought about signing an audition sheet.

But the problem here is that he has no fucking clue who Gerard Way is.

It’s not really a problem per se but more of an aggravation. Frank just likes knowing who is involved in his little drama community, and he likes knowing relatively what everyone’s part should be (or will be). And it makes him really uncomfortable (more like nervous) that someone new is in his drama department and trying out for this musical and he has no fucking idea who they are.

He and Olivia have been scouring the entire school looking for someone who knows who this Gerard kid is, but so far, no one has any fucking clue. Frank has been practically pulling his hair out over this. And the weird thing was, when Olivia and Frank checked the list again- another unfamiliar name was on it.

 _Juliet Dresdin_.

Who the fuck?

Frank was getting just flat out worried now. There were people auditioning and he didn’t know what part they were after and that terrified him. He needed to be the lead. He was perfect for it! It wasn’t fair that no one even knew who these people were; let alone what part they wanted to try out for!

Frank and Olivia now had added the name Juliet to their list of: Find out who these people are ASAP!

Frank was Vice President of the Drama Club, shouldn’t he be able to know who these people are.

So when Frank went up to Miss Wendy one day just trying to say it was for the good of Drama that he know who everyone was she just laughed airily and looked at him with bright eyes before saying, “Oh, I have no idea whose signed up, so I’m not sure.” She giggles and goes back to organizing papers on her desk.

Frank groaned internally.

So for the next week and a half before auditions, Frank and Olivia continued their search for these mysterious people. The even weirder thing being no one had ever seen them in class before, so who were these people?

For a while Frank thought that someone thought it would be funny to make up names and put them on the list, but he couldn’t figure out who would do that. If you weren’t in drama you didn’t come _anywhere_ near the drama bulletin.

So on the countdown to 2 days before auditions Frank and Olivia were kicking into overdrive practice, working lines, songs, the dance number they knew they would have to do if they made call backs (which they would, duh) and after a long talk Olivia even convinced Frank to practice the scene where Abri and Delchiaro kiss.

Everything was going perfect, he had the main two songs that he knew he would have to do, almost 100% down. He was so ready for this audition he could probably audition while he was asleep.

But then everything came crashing down.

Olivia was helping Frank go over a trouble spot in one of Delchiaro’s solos that he’d have to sing for call back (if he got in) - (which he _would_ , duh). And they were taking a break, just hanging out in the choir room, where the afterschool kids were practicing some Latin piece that sounded a lot like something that would be played in a Mexican restaurant and not in a choir performance. They were listening and talking to the choir kids, in between the choir conductor yelling at this boy for not knowing any of the words like, at all. And they talked about Delchiaro audition with this one girl in choir and Olivia had mentioned Gerard and Juliet’s names on the list and the girl lit up like a fucking light.

“You mean like, Gerard Way and Juliet Dresdin?” She said with a smile that Frank thought would rip her face in two if it got any bigger.

Frank paused and turned in the chair he was perched in to give her his full attention. “Yes. How do you know them?” He asks eagerly.

Olivia glances at Frank with a look that says, ‘You’re crazy, shut up’ before looking at the choir girl.

The choir girl grins and sucks in a deep breath, “Gerard Way is literally the most amazing person to walk the Earth, and Juliet is like his best friend.”

“Yeah but who are they? Like where are they from?” ‘Why are there names on my audition list?’ He adds to himself.

“They go to The School of Fine Arts across town. It’s like a magnet program. You know who they are. They’re drama department been our rivals for like ever, right? Well the thing is Gerard doesn’t really agree with the program anymore and he knows he’s already got like a full ride to Julliard, right. So Gerard’s brother goes here, Mikey Way, you know him, right? Everyone does. So Gerard moved to this school for all of his core classes and goes to the Arts school for his Drama classes and he convinced Juliet to do the same thing. Y’know everyone says he’s really sweet, and cute. Someone in choir said he was trying for the lead and that Juliet would be his love interest.” She sighs and Olivia looks at Frank, because she knows he’s about to reach across this chair and strangle the innocent choir girl in front of him.

Frank was pissed.

Frank had been prepping for this role for months, almost an entire year, and he wouldn’t let some School of Fine Arts kid come and rip it away from him. Frank knew immediately he would have to work even harder if he was really going to land this role. And auditions were in two days! The thing is, Frank even knows Mikey Way, because really, who doesn’t? Frank has hung out with Mikey Way before and never, ever has he heard of this mysterious super talented brother of Mikey’s, and has definitely not heard of him coming to school here. Miss Wendy knew about the Hazen/SoFA rivalry, there was no way she would risk her drama department to let them in the musical.

The Hazen/SoFA rivalry has been going on for like ever.

Every year there was a huge drama competition and every school shows up with a few perfected plays or musicals and performs in different categories to win and get money to fund their drama program and the winner of the entire competition got to go to New York to compete at the National Level.

It started back a few years ago when a senior at SoFA new that Hazen was going to win the competition. He had then snuck into the booth to mess with their lighting during the performance, throwing the whole thing off, costing Hazen the competition.

Then Hazen retaliated.

The next year the President of the drama club- who is now graduated and in their 3rd year at some Performance School in LA- found out that Hazen had done that and decided to take action. That year SoFA was doing some Off-Broadway play production that was creepy as hell, and included a lot of fucking effects. So Hazen replaced their smoke machine with 4 bubble machines, causing their dramatic death scene to be more like a picnic.

The fight continued and even went into when the schools would perform their own productions at school, almost _always_ someone would sneak in and try to ruin the performance. That’s why in the recent years of the Drama Club, the VP and President would always request extra techs to watch stage entrances.

The rivalry is still happening, too, so the fact that these SoFA kids think they can come in here and perform in their school production while still taking drama classes at _that_ school. They were dead wrong.

So now Frank is pissed.

And now Frank is marching straight over to Miss Wendy, but Olivia stops him in the hallway. “Woah! Woah, Woah. Calm down Sharpay, Troy and Gabriella will definitely be taken off the list. Wendy will see the error in her ways when they show up and then it’ll all work out and they’ll get kicked off of the list.” Olivia stands in front of Frank and hold him by the shoulders.

Frank was still pissed.

Frank bet that Gerard didn’t even know one _word_ of Italian. Delchiaro was not being taken away from Frank. He would have that role.

And he was willing to fight for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Chapter 2 already? I got in a writing mood. Concrit please?


	3. High Notes Are For Sopranos, Silly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank can hear Miss Wendy’s voice in the background and she’s giggling and talking to her assistants and stage manager before she speaks up loud enough for everyone to hear.
> 
> “Thank you so much Gerard that was absolutely wonderful.”
> 
> Frank’s world shatters.

What Frank loved most about the auditorium was the way it just seemed to invite everyone in. It just seemed like the place whether you’re watching the play, or working the booth, or performing center stage, or shoving props at an actor backstage, or throwing costumes and makeup on restless actors in dressing rooms, or in the pit making the music to accompany the action on stage, you always feel like you belong there. Everyone was welcome in the auditorium and the vibe it gave off was exactly that.

The doors of the auditorium were possibly the biggest doors in the school there were 6 of them with carved metal handles placed inward on the door, and you see them and immediately think: theater. Inside was just magical. When the house lights were up you could see everything. You could see the way the leg curtains edged the stage, hiding the actors, and the way the proscenium arch seemed to fit perfectly with the main drape and teaser.

The seats in the theater were just like any other theater seats you had seen in your life, except to Frank, the red fake velvety look they held made the place seem more real, more like they could be at any theater and not just their high school.

The fact that the theater had such a royal color scheme made it even more magical to be a part of. The reds and golds and dark browns gave off such a warm, inviting feel. The red of the main drape, the red of the seats, the gold on the proscenium arch and the gold and cream of the angled ceiling that carried sound so well. The dark brown of the steps leading to the seats and to the stage, and the even darker brown of the pit, just tied everything together.

The stage was Frank’s favorite part though.

The Proscenium stage was painted black with a lacquer to cover it and give it gloss. It was flawless, the velvet red of the main drape dragging across the stage when the curtains open make it look surreal, and the lights from above on the batten reflect of the gloss of the stage floor. Stage lights lined the apron of the stage and Frank dreamed of turning all of the lights off in the theater besides those and stand in center stage, just to see what it would feel like with the pale yellow light on him.

Backstage was no less magical. The black velvet that was the leg curtains, masking the action happening offstage of stage hands and makeup artists and costumes being put on and fixed and perfected, lines being rehearsed seconds before going onstage and dances and blocking being practiced in the small confines of the wings. Frank loves backstage almost as much as onstage, because as much as it was amazing to watch the drama kids perform, it was amazing to watch them be so serious about theater and rehearse even when show day arrives.

At the end of the right wing backstage were the dressing rooms and the closet where they kept all the old costumes for later use. The technical theater kids had organized the entire closet in one week and Miss Wendy was thoroughly impressed.

Drama kids were a forced to be reckoned with and Frank loved that too.

The entire theater department was just… magic.

Frank loved all aspects of theater, every single part of it, but the thing he loved most was being on stage. Frank loved the feeling of all eyes on him, and loved the feeling of being elevated, where he could perform. He loved performing.

When you walk on stage during a performance and can’t see any of the audience, it feels real. Whatever setting you’re in, or whatever setting you’re making up, feels not so distant, and it’s easy to get lost in the feeling of being who you’re character is. Frank loves that he could be any character he wants, and that no one can judge him for it because in the end it’s all like a game of play pretend. You get assigned parts and you play pretend just like when you were a little kid, it’s the same thing.

That’s another thing Frank loves about it, acting, singing, dancing, musicals, plays, performing, he loves the aspect that he can pretend to be someone else like he was little again and playing house or pretending his stuffed animals went through every day dramas.

Drama had always been such a natural thing for Frank. When he was little he was always putting on shows and coming up with scenes and things that could make his life more drama filled. He would pretend to faint, or cry, or something silly in front of his parents just to see if he could pull it off, usually, he could.

Whenever Frank would overdramatize something his mom would always shake her head and smile at him and go, “Honey if you don’t go through with this acting thing, I think I’ll have to kill you.” And Frank would laugh and respond, “Don’t worry mom, I’ll be on Broadway in no time.”

And there was a point in Frank’s life when he wasn’t sure if Broadway was really what he wanted anymore. He wanted to be a musician, he wanted to write songs, and perform and do all the things he could do on a Broadway stage except at a more intimate venue. His mom, being a lady of class, didn’t really understand his slight change, and it was true that sometime Frank still had his doubts whether it was really what he wanted or not, but then he got on stage, and just…. knew. He knew that this is what he was made to do, whether it was creating his own music or performing someone else’s writings, he belonged on a stage.

So as Frank stood on the lit stage, he could see out into the audience- the house lights up- and he could see the faces of all the other people auditioning today and he could see Olivia smiling wide up at him when he introduces himself with all of his confident flare.

Frank never really got nervous. That just wasn’t who he was. He wasn’t a nervous type of person; he knew that as soon as he got on stage no matter how he did, he would enjoy it. Most people were afraid of not being good enough, or messing up. But for Frank all of that came so easily.

Of course he got nervous sometimes everyone did, that was normal, but moments like this- when he knew he could own the fucking attention of everyone in the audience, he was never nervous.

And as he sand the required part for auditions, he felt invincible, he felt as if he _was_ Delchiaro, singing about how we wasn’t going to make it to Europe, about how much he loved Abri and wanted to help her pursue her dream, and how much he wanted to please his father.

_“After all…. I am… Del-chiaro…”_ Frank sings the final line and gives a soft expression out into the crowd and bows his head before the clapping starts and Frank knows he has the part handed to him on a fucking gold plate. Frank stand at the center of the apron on stage while Wendy and her assistants and student stage manager take notes and compare actor sheets. He waits until Wendy looks up and smiles a big smile at him and nods.

“Well done, Frankie. Come join the rest of us.” She sing-songs and Frank nods, walking off from the side steps and down into the audience towards where Olivia sits near the back.

As soon as he plops down beside her she grins, “Well hello there, Delchiaro.” She smirks and Frank pushes at her shoulder before slouching down and he can hear the quiet chatter of the casting team and the background chatter of the audience members of soon-to-be auditioning people. “Frank. Frank they sent the last three boys backstage to get ready to go on. One of them I have never seen in my entire _life_. And Frankie. Frankie he’s _gorgeous_.” Olivia says and she looks up at the ceiling of the theater before looking back at frank.

“Do you think it could be…?” Frank starts and Olivia nods. “I have to go see who he is before he gets on stage.” Olivia’s eyes widen at Frank’s words and he gets up, grabbing Olivia’s hand and tugging her out of her seat. He moves to the back of the house, towards the big doors, and slips both him and Olivia out of the auditorium without anyone noticing. He turns quickly and walks towards the drama hallway.

“Are we going through the drama room to get backstage?” Olivia asks and Frank nods, quickly, rushing to push open Miss Wendy’s room’s door and walking to the back where a smaller door stands. He pulls it open and is engulfed by set pieces and props.

After making their way through the pieces of long forgotten sets, costumes, and props he gets to the actual part of backstage, stopping before the space where the wings are. He sees two techs he knows from the last play and three boys. And- Oh- _Holy shit_. “No fucking way.” He whispers and drags Olivia to go hide behind a set piece so they can watch them.

“What are we fucking stalkers?” Olivia says and Frank holds his hand up to shut her up. “Shh.” He says quietly.

The boy- whoever he may be, because Frank is praying it isn’t the asshole the choir girl talked about- _is_ fucking gorgeous as Olivia said. From what Frank can see, he isn’t much taller than 5’9” and is pretty slim around his hips and stands with a hip jutted outward. His hair is pitch black and lies perfectly around his face, framing the way he looks in small layers, really nicely. He’s got pale skin that could rival that of one of the computer science dorks that never see the sun, but it suits him really well. He’s wearing a black t-shirt and a black denim jacket that is line in a pale silver, ever so subtly, and he’s wearing black skinny jeans that fit his a- _no, Frank_. Frank snaps himself out of it when the boy turns and he can see his face, and his eyes are lit up, and they’re a bright emerald green and you can practically see the gold in them. His face is angular and his nose is slightly upturned in the cute- no, Frank. He’s speaking to the other auditioning boys, Josh and Brendon, and Frank can see that his lips are slightly turned up at one side, and Frank immediately wonders what it would be like to- no Frank.

The boy- Frank is still hoping it isn’t _him_ \- is waving his hands around, one hand holding his sheet music, and talking animatedly about something and Frank is thoroughly enchanted. He looks so open and genuine and pulls a couple laughs out of Josh which is something that isn’t easily accomplished, so Frank gives the boy props for that. Then Brendon says something in reply, making them all laugh and Frank can hear the boys laugh clearly, it’s a dorky laugh, and most people would call it adorable. Olivia sighs and looks at Frank, “Oh my god, he’s so hot.” She says and looks back at him with a slightly pained expression. She looks back at Frank who is still looking at the boy and she grins. “And you totally like him; you totally think he’s cute.” She grins and Frank grimaces but the faint pink in his cheeks says differently.

Frank is about to retort with something witty and then he would change the conversation because, this guy was hot. It was just a fact of nature and Frank could admit that without having to say he wanted to date said person. But he was interrupted by a loud clap and the overly happy voice of Miss Wendy saying, “Okay, who is next?” She giggles and the boy nods to Josh and Brendon before turning around and walking on stage like he’s done this too many times to be bothered.

Frank moves over a set piece to see out from the Wings on stage, he can get a small glimpse of the audience too. The boy stands there in the center of the stage with a small smile, his sheet music rolled up into a cylinder in one hand. He stands and waits for his cue to begin. The music starts and the boy smiles, tossing the sheet music into the wing.

Then the boy sings and Frank almost faints.

Olivia falls forward onto the sturdy set piece and looks over at Frank with a huff.

The boy’s voice is just as gorgeous as he is.

He’s auditioning with the same piece everyone else is, _The Second Delchiaro,_ which is the opening song, except sung by Delchiaro and with different lyrics. And he’s perfecting it.

He’s expressive as he stands on stage, his hands and arms moving and he occasionally takes a few stray steps away from straight center stage, and he gets into it, and you can practically feel what he is feeling through his actions.

The ending lyric has an optional higher note, it’s not too far out of most boys ranges but for most still ever changing high schooler’s it is, so they take the lower one, but no.

He takes the high note, and doesn’t miss a fucking beat or breath.

And damn does he sound good.

Frank is blown away by the performance and at the end the boy bring himself back to reality and you can see where he fades away from portraying his character and comes back into being himself, his arms coming back to fall by his sides and his posture relaxing.

The audience is clapping loud as hell, and people are talking loudly. They quiet down and Frank and Olivia just sit and stare, too stunned to even speak to each other as they lean back against the set piece and try to think about what they just witnessed.

Frank can hear Miss Wendy’s voice in the background and she’s giggling and talking to her assistants and stage manager before she speaks up loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Thank you so much Gerard that was absolutely wonderful.”

Frank’s world shatters.

If this boy- Gerard- was who the choir girl said he was, he sure didn’t show it, although he is just as dreamy and amazing as she said, he sure doesn’t look like an asshole, but Frank is almost positive he could be one. Although when he looks onto the stage he can see Gerard’s cheeks flush at the compliment and he fidgets slightly.

Frank was slightly upset.

If what the choir girl said was true then that meant that this guy was out to steal away his role. Which meant Frank could not be thinking that this boy was anything other than the enemy. Frank was pissed.

Because not only was the enemy ridiculously attractive and seemed relatively dorky, he also had the range of a fucking god.

In other words, Frank had a lot of work cut out for him.

Frank and Olivia sneak back into the auditorium and sit back into their seats at the back and watch Gerard as he comes down to sit in the house with the rest of the people auditioning today and he gets a congratulations and he flushes at each one and smiles meekly at them before sitting down next to a bright blonde haired girl that Frank has never seen before and he assumes that is Juliet.

Frank watches them talk and he gets the growing suspicion that Juliet is not just a best friend to Gerard, but reminds himself that everyone thought he and Olivia were dating for like an entire year before Frank came out. Frank is now so nervous he could probably run to the bathroom right now and throw up everything he had for lunch, which was his mom’s Italian vegetarian wraps that she made last night that were really good and Frank would be slightly upset to throw them up if he was being honest.

The auditions drag on, consisting of people not being able to sing and stopping halfway through, clapping for the ones that try, and a girl getting on stage and then crying as she runs off it after her song. Frank sort of feels bad for her except for when he doesn’t.

Frank is way too busy focused on Gerard and how he acts and moves and speaks and sits there looking really chill and really hot and talking with all of these people he doesn’t even know so easily, like they’ve all been friends for years, like Gerard’s been going to Haven for years. Frank decides, just looking at Gerard he seems like a nice person, but Frank can tell where there would be enough room in him to be an asshole and Frank has thoroughly convinced himself that Gerard will probably be one of those drama people that think they’re better than everyone else because they’ve had training.

On the inside Frank is panicking. The lead role for _Delchiaro_ is all Frank has ever wanted since he first watched the live Broadway performance when he was like 11. Frank’s dreamt of this role for as long as he can remember and it terrifies him to think that someone would be able to take Frank’s dream away from him. He just wants to live that out just once, he just wants to feel what it’s like to be a role he really, really wants and has really worked for.

But Frank is now terrified of what will happen a week from now when the cast list is posted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO I AM REALLY EXCITED FOR THIS ONE AND I AM GOING ON VACATION WHICH MEANS LOTS MORE WRITING, AND I PROMISE ANOTHER CHAPTER OF MY KILLJOY SERIES WILL BE OUT THIS WEEK, THANK YOU I LOVE YOU, OMG SO MANY CAPS.


	4. Callbacks Mean Nothing, Theater Is Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was a list in Frank’s bedroom hung up next to a poster of Bernadette Peters; that currently read in various colors of pens and markers:

There were many things in life that Frank hated. There were many things in life that Frank feared.

He had lists for things that he hated, as childish as it seemed. He liked making lists, of everything. Mostly of things he hated.

There was a list in Frank’s bedroom hung up next to a poster of Bernadette Peters; that currently read in various colors of pens and markers:

_Things I hate:_

_1 Spiders_

_2 People who pretend they know everything about acting- (It’s not all black and white, bitches, it’s acting)_

_3 My mom when she hands me college pamphlets_

_4 Sushi (I’m already a vegetarian but that shit’s gross)_

_5 Thrust theater stages_

_6 That community theater, Devines, because they’re stuck up and wouldn’t cast me_

_7 Callbacks_

And scribbled down at the bottom in bold, black sharpie.

_8 Gerard Way_

Frank sometimes pretended like he hadn’t written the 8th one but there was no use in trying to get rid of sharpie and it wasn’t as if it was a lie.

But let’s focus on number 7 shall we?

Frank hated that one, a lot.

Callbacks were the one thing most actors enjoys going to because it meant you had a chance.

But no, anyone who thought that were obviously amateurs and knew absolutely nothing about the harsh realities of the theater world, and not everything revolved around callbacks.

Frank remembers freshman year during a production of some deep thought play that the old drama teacher thought would be perfect to add to Haven’s repertoire of already pretty dark plays they’d performed, him and this girl he talked to during class once made callbacks.

Frank, unlike the girl, Melanie, knew the harsh reality that even though he got callbacks that there was still a chance that he wasn’t going to even make it in the cast list for God’s sake, but he also knew that there was still an equally good chance that he would.

Because that’s the thing about drama, and theater and live acting and performing. Most of the time it’s pretty unpredictable.

Melanie on the other hand thought that because she had made it into callbacks that she would totally get to be a fucking star or something.

So when they got callbacks and went through the general check through of singing and dancing, it was time for people to get called back to see if they could actually do the acting.

Frank and Melanie didn’t get called back to read scripts but Frank wasn’t too worried, it was just how theater was and if he didn’t get the part, oh well, next play.

Later that day Melanie had texted him and talked on, and on, and on about how she was so nervous for the cast list to be posted and _how could Frank not be nervous oh my god_ , and Frank really did not want to talk to this girl, they had literally spoken like twice in class. So during their conversation about how callbacks went Melanie goes:

_I guess that means no speaking roles for us, since we didn’t get called to read._

Frank laughed and then scowled at her foolishness, he hated amateurs that assumed they knew anything about theater.

When the cast list was posted 2 days later, Frank had the supporting lead role.

Melanie still doesn’t talk to Frank, (he’s not sure if it’s because of that or because he totally made out with her boyfriend later that year but whatever, same difference.)

Frank hated callbacks for a number of reasons. One, because they left you feeling uncertain, because then you really don’t know what part you’ll get. Two, because usually if you’re in a community theater or high school drama program, it’s always the same competition that gets callbacks, and that’s boring. Three, because they were almost completely useless when you weren’t doing blind casting, because, really the director already knows who they want as their leads.

Frank didn’t mind participating in callbacks, but he just hated the idea of them, when there was really no need.

But theater is unpredictable.

Frank reasons that was one thing that lead him to theater in the first place. Other than the fact when he was born he was already a very dramatic child and had the talent to be a star, it was that in theater, anything could happen. Starting from the moment you audition.

You could totally bomb your audition and still get called into callbacks, because the director liked your shoes or something dumb. Then at callbacks you could do even worse and not read lines and still get a main part, or you could do great and not get a main part.

During rehearsals anything could happen from a wide range of people quitting, to getting hurt, to the stage malfunctioning, and anything.

On stage, during a performance was where it got really spectacular. When actually running a show things have the possibility to go wrong, everywhere. Frank guesses that’s why he likes it so much, because being completely perfect is overrated and a play isn’t good without a few mess ups.

Anything could happen in live theater, you could mess up, or someone else could and you’d have to cover it. Or you’d have to break the fourth wall to cover up a mistake or to try and make up for the mistake. You could have a costume malfunction, makeup malfunction, lighting, set, _actor_ malfunction. Theater was completely unpredictable and it was insane and exciting and Frank loved it.

He would be content being a chorus member for all of his life if it meant he’d get to keep doing what he loved on stage. But Frank knew he had the talent to be big in theater, and so he wouldn’t settle for anything less than chorus member.

Frank also figured that another reason that he loved theater was because it was mostly filled with people who didn’t really belong. There were all different types of people in theater, there were preppy girls who were pretty and had lots of friends and voices of pure gold, emo kids that wore lots of eyeliner and black that worked tech, there were nerds who blossomed on stage and got to show who they really want to be, there were jocks that love Shakespeare, artsy kids from Mr. Dems room that could make scenery to die for, anyone could do theater, and everyone should.

Frank believed strongly that theater brought out the best in people, because people could be whoever they wanted and not get judged for it. Most people in school can tell who’s a drama kid just by looking at them. It’s like this honorary mark that you get once you permanently join the drama department. The Haven High Drama Department was the most open and safest place for everyone to be who they wanted to be without being judged, because let’s face it, drama kids were fucking crazy most the time.

 Frank’s mind goes back to his list in his room next to his Bernadette Peters poster as he and Olivia are now skipping their 4th block class and sprinting down the hallways of Haven High.

They have a good reason to be skipping class, honestly, and their teachers already know that their drama students (all of the drama kids are on the list for the kids who skip class because they get pulled out of class and the teachers think they’re doing some giant scheme). But they’re skipping class because of what was just posted on the Haven High Drama Department blog.

The blog was always run by the student stage manager, who this year just happened to be the President of the drama department, Sidney.

In class their blog alert on their phones went off, about a new post, and the post read:

_Dear Drama Students of Haven High,_

_It’s me, Sidney, your Stage Manager of Delchiaro and your President of the Haven High Drama Department. This is post #1 of the beginning of our Delchiaro adventures, (which will be categorized under our Delchiaro tag)._

_I just wanted to inform you that after a gruesome week of me and Wendy- Miss Wendy to Drama Students and Ms. Frasier to the other students- going over some very promising talent that auditioned a few days ago we have decided on what to do, and we have just now- like right now- posted a callback list on the first door of the auditorium._

_Check it out._

_The list will also be posted here, after school lets out._

_Anyone on the list please report to the auditorium on Thursday, for callbacks._

_(If you have any conflicts with meeting on Thursday please contact me or Wendy immediately. If you feel like you do not want to participate in callbacks also report to me or Wendy immediately.)_

_Thank You, Lovelies._

_-Sid_

After Frank saw the post he immediately texted Olivia leading to them skipping their next class and sprinting to the auditorium.

Frank swore that if a teacher stopped him right now he would probably murder them.

He had to see that list.

Olivia and Frank reach the auditorium and stop about 10 feet away from the door. A white piece of paper with writing on it hanging from a small strip of tape. They take small steps forward till they can read what it says on the paper.

_CALLBACKS FOR- DELCHIARO: THE MUSICAL_

_(In no particular order)_

_Reed Sear_

_Brendon Urie_

_Olivia Trevor_

_Patrick Stump_

_Josh Rep_

_Juliet Dresdin_

_Stacy Scheyter_

_Jessie Yao_

_Dallon Weekes_

_Leslie Queen_

_Andy Hurley_

_Casey Downsent_

_Haley Williams_

_Frank Iero_

_Gerard Way_

There were 13 other names on the list but after that Frank stopped reading, hell Frank stopped _breathing._

Olivia muttered under her breath, “No fucking way.”

Frank opened his mouth to curse and scream but Olivia stopped him.

“Hold on, Sharpay. Troy and Gabriella haven’t ruined everything yet.” Olivia said and although her humor almost made Frank smiled because, yeah, he could totally rock Sharpay, he couldn’t even bring himself to smile.

Frank is panicking. “SoFA is taking over. They’ve come to steal our Drama Department. What if this is all a scam? What if they’re doing this to ruin Delchiaro? Do you think they would stoop this low? I mean they’ve sent kids in before but not like _this_ , I-“

“Frank.”

“Hm.”

“What if they really are just trying to be good students and still have fun doing what they love?” Olivia prompted.

Frank didn’t even want to think of that option.

 

Frank was glaring.

Frank was really, really glaring.

There he stood off center of the stage with his animated fucking hands and dopey little grin and happy little stance, clad in a leather jacket that was graced with useless zippers and pins and buttons, and skinny jeans that made Frank want to simultaneously rip them off of him or see if he could tighten them more and cut off his circulation. He was talking to like 5 other drama students and they all seemed so entranced by him, like he was the greatest fucking thing ever.

Frank wasn’t bitter. He wasn’t.

Olivia had left Frank to go scope out this Juliet girl, who was apparently also really honest, and sweet, and had a good voice, and came from SoFA, and was perfect, except not.

Frank was sulking by the side of the stage, holding a piece of the Delchiaro script that they were given in his hand.

Frank was in fact so busy sulking he didn’t notice someone sneaking up to his side and speaking to him.

“You were really good at auditions, I meant to tell you, but I couldn’t find you and I didn’t remember your name so…”

Frank turned and faced his worst nightmare.

There he was all up close and in Frank’s space and Frank was sure he was about to either punch him or faint.

Frank realized he hadn’t replied for an ungodly amount of time and blushed. “Oh thanks? You were-“ Frank almost coughs, “You were good too. You’re Gerard right?” Frank says, and decides he might as well try and get some info out of this prick.

Gerard nods and smiles at him, “Yeah and you’re name is…?” Gerard prompts.

“Frank.”

“Right. I knew I was right but I wanted to be sure.” Gerard says and he’s still looking at Frank.

Frank grimaces at Gerard’s presence. “You’re from SoFA right? So exactly why are you here in this drama department when you could be there?” Frank asks, coldly and Gerard looks stunned, eyes wide.

Gerard clears his through, fiddling with his piece of the Delchiaro script in his hand, “My brother goes here, and the actual learning program at SoFA isn’t the best so I come here for my core classes and go there for my drama classes, and Delchiaro is probably my favorite musical out of everything, so I thought it’d be fun to join and it’s my senior year so I figured I’d try to do as many things as possible.”

“Yeah, okay.” Frank says and looks across the stage to where Olivia is talking to Juliet and… smiling?

Gerard stands there sort of awkwardly for a moment before realizing that Frank isn’t going to strike up conversation any time soon and slowly gravitates back to the group he was talking to originally.

Frank is now making a list of ways he can ruin Gerard Way’s senior year when he heard Wendy squeak out.

“Okay! Everybody on stage and lined up!”

Frank now realizes this is the first time he’s ever been nervous going into callbacks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO I HAD THIS SPUR OF WRITING AND THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED I HOPE ITS GOOD, AND ALSO I AM GOING TO THE FOB CONCERT IN JULY SO I AM SO EXCITED AND ALSO MY BIRTHDAY IS IN LIKE 12 DAYS SO HELL YEAH I AM VALENTINES AF


End file.
